


Cold Sheets, Hard Tile

by bromeliadslove



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Drabble, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Panic Attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 01:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30064458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bromeliadslove/pseuds/bromeliadslove
Summary: Bitty wakes up to find Jack in the middle of a panic attack.
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	Cold Sheets, Hard Tile

It’s the middle of the night, and Bitty wakes up to empty sheets on Jack’s side of the bed. 

Bitty finds Jack on the bathroom floor, his hands clenched tightly in his hair and his breath coming in short gasps. Bitty knows the drill--he gets Jack to put his head between his knees and wraps his arms around Jack’s shoulders. He reminds Jack that it’s okay, that Jack is here, that _they’re both here._

Eventually, Jack’s breathing slows, and he stops shaking. For a while, they just sit there, Jack’s face buried in Bitty’s chest.

“Sorry I woke you,” Jack chokes out. “Tried to be quiet.”

And something inside Bitty breaks at this. He _knows_ how hard it is for Jack some days, and he _knows_ how terrifying it is not to be able to breath, no matter how much air one inhales. For Jack to feel guilty about needing Bitty’s help is crushing.

(And because all Bitty knows of Parse is the disastrous meeting at the kegster, where there were snarled words and bared teeth and Jack’s too wide eyes, he hates Parse in that moment. In Bitty’s mind, Parse is part of the reason Jack looks so small and tense and scared. And who’s to say? He may be right.)

Bitty can’t say any of these things, though, because the last time he brought them up Jack shut down right away.

Instead, Bitty kisses Jack’s hair and cups Jack’s face. He says, his voice far less fierce and sharp than he would like it to be, “You never, _ever_ have to apologize for needing me.”

It’s a promise to Jack. It’s a promise to himself.

And so they go back to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't yell at me about Parse--Bitty canonically does not trust him, and I wanted to honor that in this fic.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Leave a comment below or come chat with me on tumblr!


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